'Dancing at Lughnasa'

It will soon be August and Laa Luanys beckons. I toy with the idea of climbing to the top of South Barrule on the chance there will be a group of musicians (and a dog) there but in the end decide to celebrate by ordering the movie version of Brian Friel's Irish play set in Donegal ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’. In any case I feel sure Culture Vannin emerging from the July ‘month of culture’ will have something special in store.

On Manx Radio Treasury Minister Alf Cannan is being petulant about former MHK Peter Karran but to show Alf has a soft centre he’s also waxing nostalgic about the Steam Railway it is if you like ‘Alf Lite’. Why I wonder does Tim Glover indulge him after all if Alf had is way he would shut down the Station and I don’t mean the Railway one!

I don’t share Alf’s view that the retention of the Peel, Northern or even Foxdale line would have had people flocking to the Island. They were designed for another era the period of Victorian tourism so sadly the Douglas Ramsey train will not bring the trippers flooding back. Unlike Alf I’m old enough to remember when ghost trains little used steamed past Lynague. It was nice I’m as nostalgic as the next but let’s be realistic.

Sticking with the culture theme however that must have potential. Chatting to a very engaging Canadian the other evening it turned out that having Manx and Irish roots he was doing the grand tour (Ireland and Mann) at some great expense including a return to the English Midlands from where he emigrated many years ago. His ‘Manx name’ which he insisted was Irish is well known but what impressed me was his knowledge of the Manx traditional music scene which I have to confess was more up to date than mine.

It's clear that Manx musicians trips to North America and farther afield have great potential and possibly are more likely to generate a better return than all those Skelly inspired jaunts to the Orient or the Northern Line!

Anyway happy Laa Luanys!

Here's a Culture Vannin Vimeo music link:

https://vimeo.com/226265962

Image: The film adaptation of Brian Friel's ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’

Bernard Moffatt